


Simulacrum

by Inkyrius



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, During Canon, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-19 18:33:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14879045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkyrius/pseuds/Inkyrius
Summary: As an AI, Chiaki doesn't have a soulmate. That wouldn't be a problem if the real Chiaki hadn't had two.





	Simulacrum

**Author's Note:**

  * For [prosodiical](https://archiveofourown.org/users/prosodiical/gifts).



> This was originally inspired by prosodiical's excellent Poly Trolley prompts, but then it got long and this seemed like the more appropriate place for it. It was a lot of fun to write, though, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
> 
> Huge thanks to [graveExcitement](https://archiveofourown.org/users/arachnids/pseuds/graveExcitement) for the beta!

The Neo World Program is up and running, and so far, everything is going according to plan. The students are slightly afraid but mostly just confused. None of them show any signs of despair.

Chiaki celebrates this victory by playing video games. The arcade machines in the hotel lobby allow her to keep an eye on things as she plays, and she’s willing to set her game aside if her classmates want her attention. It shouldn’t be a problem.

They seem to be doing fine without her anyway. They’ve spread out to explore the first island, it looks like, and people keeping coming in and out of the hotel. Every now and then she hears an introduction behind her, followed by the buzz of an E-Handbook registering a Hope Fragment. The sound always makes her smile. The first Hope Fragment with someone is the easiest to get, the achievement for beating the tutorial before the game begins for real. But you have to beat the tutorial to progress, and it sounds like they’re getting there quickly.

The stream of students slows to a trickle. Chiaki allows herself to get more engrossed in her game. She’s more invested than she thought, and it takes her a while to realize when someone calls to her. She looks up and sees the last two students she needs to greet.

She gives a rehearsed introduction, name and talent and hobby. She isn’t prepared for the way they both jerk in surprise. “Wow,” one of them says. “Both of you in one day? I didn’t think anything that bad had happened to me recently.”

“Was getting kidnapped and trapped on an island not bad enough for you?” The other boy shakes his head. “Let me do this properly. I’m Hajime Hinata, and this is Nagito Komaeda. We’re your soulmates.”

Nagito offers to show her his marks to prove it, but Chiaki is barely listening. It doesn’t matter what might be written on his skin. She isn’t anyone’s soulmate. She’s an AI, after all, and the only reason she has a soulmark is because not having one would be suspicious. She doesn’t even remember the name on it. She hadn’t expected the subject to come up at all, let alone this soon.

Now that it has, she’s torn. She knows she ought to play along. Telling them even part of the truth might make them suspicious, and she can’t risk the mission like that. She just hates to deceive them like this. The girl who’s destined for them has been dead for years, and trying to fill her shoes will just make everyone miserable.

But they’re looking at her, expectant, and all she can do is smile. “That’s great,” she says. “I’m so happy to meet you.” It’s not technically a lie. The thought doesn’t make her feel any better.

The arcade machine makes a sad sound as she loses her last life. She puffs her cheeks out in annoyance. She’s already having a crisis, she doesn’t need it to interfere with her games too. “I was so close to a new high score,” she says.

Hajime laughs, slightly awkward. “I’ll be honest, this is not how I expected this conversation to go. I was kind of picturing more excitement? I don’t know, you’re both full of surprises.”

“Sorry,” Chiaki says. “I’m the kind of person who has to gather my thoughts before I start talking, and this is big, so there are a lot of thoughts to gather.” She wonders how far she’ll be able to get with carefully chosen truths, and why she’s bothering.

At least they don’t seem to pick up on her discomfort. “That makes sense,” Nagito says. He looks like he’s about to say more, but he’s interrupted by the sound of a bell. The monitor at the reception desk switches on.

Chiaki breathes a sigh of relief. Having a scripted event will give her time to figure out what to do. She’s going to want to talk to Usami about changing her soulmark, she thinks. The situation is delicate enough without having proof of her deception printed on her skin.

After that, she’s just going to have to hope.

* * *

 

Chiaki isn’t surprised when Hajime shows up on her doorstep and invites her to hang out. No one wants to admit to being suspicious of their classmates, but it’s much easier to believe in someone when destiny says you’re going to get along. That also explains why he insists on bringing Nagito.

She can’t say she minds. Anything is better than the horrible tension at breakfast.

No one has a clear idea of what to do, and they end up sitting around on the beach. It’s warm enough that both Chiaki and Nagito have to take off their jackets. Chiaki’s rolled up the sleeves of her blouse.

Hajime gives the Mono-mono Yachine a spin or two, using coins he apparently got for finding a Monokuma doll in his rafters. He comes back with a pile of assorted objects and dumps them on the sand.

Chiaki scoots closer and sorts through it. Most of it is boring, but she does find a toy car of some sort. She immediately sets to figuring out how it works. Next to her, Nagito is exclaiming over a pin of some sort. Hajime looks pleased with himself. “You want those? I really don’t need all this crap.”

“Thank you,” Chiaki says. She fiddles with a joystick. “No one’s ever given me something this nice before.”

Nagito nods. “To think that something like this would be here, of all places?”

Hajime shrugs. “I mean, it’s cheap vending machine junk, but I’m glad you like it.” He picks out a container of shaved ice for himself.

They’re quiet for a while, playing with their newfound toys. Chiaki decides to make a game of driving as quickly and precisely as possible. It’s harder than it seems; sand isn’t a great driving surface. The controller in her hands and the repetitive sound of the ocean waves let her sink into a gaming mindset, and she manages to forget that anyone else is around until she feels Hajime’s hand on her shoulder. She blinks. “Yes?”

“Sorry to interrupt, but you stopped moving, and I wasn’t sure you were even breathing…” Hajime looks a little embarrassed. Chiaki isn’t sure why.

“Maybe not, but it’s fine. I was just really focused, and sometimes when I’m gaming, I forget to breathe. It’s not a big deal.”

“I’m not—,” Hajime begins, only to get cut off.

“That’s amazing!” Nagito says. His eyes are sparkling. “You must really enjoy gaming. Just what I’d expect from the Ultimate Gamer!”

“It’s not that great,” Chiaki says. “I just spend a lot of time playing games. It’s like, gaming is my life.”

“Wow,” Hajime says. “You really lit up when you started talking about games. It must be nice to have something you’re that passionate about.”

“You were accepted to Hope’s Peak too, so I’m sure you have something like that.” Nagito grins. “Maybe we can help you remember. After all, who would know you better than your own soulmates?”

Chiaki carefully doesn’t react to the reminder. She can’t tell them she’s lying, not now that things have gone so wrong. She’ll need their trust if she wants to keep everyone alive.

“I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“Sure it is. Right, Chiaki?”

Nagito’s looking at her expectantly, so Chiaki reviews the conversation and summons up a smile. “Definitely, I think.”

That’s all Nagito needs to start coming up with ridiculous fake titles for Hajime. Chiaki can’t resist contributing a few herself. Hajime’s making such funny faces at them, and it’s not particularly familiar or romantic. She isn’t intruding. Not yet.

Hajime eventually accepts his fate and starts giving them alternate titles of their own. Chiaki is now the Ultimate Narcoleptic, for instance, while Nagito is the Ultimate Meddler. Things only devolve from there.

The joke gets old eventually, and they settle down. When Hajime speaks up again, he’s changing the subject altogether. “You know, this is actually my first time going to a beach.”

“Really?” Nagito asks. “How?”

“I don’t know,” Hajime says. He sounds faintly defensive. “It was just never something that came up.”

“I’ve never been to a beach either,” Chiaki says.

Nagito throws his hands in the air. “What have either of you been doing with your lives?”

“What, and I suppose you go to the beach every day?” Hajime asks.

“I mean, it’s been a few years, but I used to go all the time.” Nagito shakes his head. “We’re going to have to fix this. When we get off this island, I’m taking you both to Hawaii.”

Chiaki frowns. She feels like she’s missing key information here. “Why?” she asks.

“Well, I want to be able to do something nice for you guys, and Hawaii is supposed to have the best beaches in the world, right?”

Nagito looks pleased with himself for the idea, so Chiaki nods. “That makes sense.”

“And would your parents be okay with that?” Hajime asks. “I mean, that’s got to be expensive…”

Nagito shrugs, a little uncomfortable. “It’ll be fine.”

Chiaki intervenes before they can pursue that line of questioning. There’s no way for Hajime to know, of course, but it would be a shame to ruin what’s shaping up to be a wonderful morning. “That’s really nice of you.”

“Yeah, seriously. It’ll be nice to spend time with you guys when things aren’t quite so insane.”

Nagito grins, and just like that things are back to normal. He and Hajime start making plans for things to do once they get off the island. Chiaki chimes in occasionally so as not to seem suspicious, but it’s hard to think of light-hearted things knowing they’ll have to leave her behind. They deserve a soulmate who could go with them. At the very least, they deserve to know the truth.

She’ll tell them eventually. Once things have calmed down, she thinks. Once it’s clear that no one is going to die.

She hopes they won’t hate her too much.

* * *

 

After the first trial, Nagito is tied up and Hajime can’t bear to look Chiaki in the eye. She thinks she’s a reminder of the marks on his palms. It’s easier for him to avoid thinking about either of them.

Whatever it is, she’s got much more free time, now that neither Nagito nor Hajime are seeking her out.

She’s disappointed. She’s relieved. She’s a little bit guilty that she’s worrying about this instead of how to prevent another murder.

She spends time with her other classmates and tries not to miss what she never should have had.

* * *

 

The day after Peko’s trial, Hajime tracks Chiaki down. He has a guilty expression and a book in his hands. Once he’s got her attention, he all but thrusts the book at her. “Sorry for avoiding you earlier,” he says.

Chiaki takes the book and examines it. It claims to contain cheat codes for every game ever released. She’s skeptical, but intrigued. Even she can’t know them all. She’d love to be able to try them out, but as it is, she’s just happy Hajime is thinking about what sorts of thing she’d enjoy. She wonders how many Monocoins he’d spent trying to get it.

It takes her a moment to realize he’s still waiting for a response. “Thank you,” she says. “I’ll take good care of it.”

“Um,” Hajime says. “Okay. Anyway, do you want to hang out?”

“That would be nice.” She almost suggests they play video games, but it occurs to her that after the debacle of Twilight Syndrome, that might not be the best idea. “Let’s go to the supermarket,” she says instead.

She’d chosen the supermarket mostly at random. She’d never really looked around the store before, and it seemed like an interesting enough place. It works out even better than she’d expected. She and Hajime get to poke around, he tells her about Girls’ Day, and things are calm for once. She’s enjoying herself.

Hajime seems to be having a good time, too, so she decides to risk asking the question. “Have you talked to Nagito yet?”

He tenses. “I’ve tried, but that guy is crazy. I don’t think I can get through to him.”

“I don’t know. He seems to really care about you, I think.” Chiaki cocks her head in thought. “If he’s going to listen to anyone here, it’d probably be you.”

“Is this because we’re soulmates?” Hajime sighs. “I’m not even convinced we’re supposed to be. It could be a mistake, right?”

Chiaki just stares at him. Admittedly, she doesn’t know that much about soulmates, but she’s pretty sure that there aren’t any mistakes.

It doesn’t take him long to give in. “I know, I know. It’s just, aren’t soulmates supposed to be easy? They’re supposed to be the best person for you. I’m not convinced he’s even the best person for himself.” He takes a deep breath. “It’s like when I’m with you. Everything would make sense if you were my only soulmate.”

Chiaki hopes her horror isn’t too obvious. She could barely handle lying to him as it was. The knowledge that, in doing so, she’s getting between him and his actual soulmate is almost more than she can bear.

She has to find a way to fix this. She smiles at Hajime and gives some excuse before hurrying out of the store.

The sensible thing to do would be to stop and figure out what to do. But because she’s apparently been programmed to seek out pain, she instead goes looking for Nagito.

There’s no good way to lead into this conversation, so she just tells him directly. “You should talk to Hajime.”

Nagito looks surprised, but his face smooths back into a smile almost immediately. “I couldn’t do that,” he says. “It’s bad enough he’s stuck with me as a soulmate. I can’t blame him for being unhappy about that, and I’m definitely not going to make it worse by inflicting myself on him.”

Chiaki narrows her eyes. No wonder he and Hajime are soulmates; they’re both annoyingly stubborn. “You wouldn’t be inflicting yourself on anybody. I think it would be good for you both, probably.” She considers it. “As long as you don’t start talking about hope, anyway.”

Nagito laughs. “I know, it’s strange. The people who most represent hope are the ones least interested in discussing it. Maybe it’s because you already understand it so well?” He shrugs. “Anyway, I really don’t mind. It makes sense for him to be disappointed by me. I’m sure you are, too.”

“Of course I’m not,” Chiaki says instantly. “I like you, and I like talking to you, most of the time.” Nagito looks first stunned and then delighted. Chiaki is struck by just how artificial his usual smile is in comparison. It doesn’t take long for his brow to furrow again, though, so she keeps talking before he can get started about either how terrible he is or how great she is for putting up with him. “And if you aren’t willing to talk to Hajime, you should at least spend some time with me.”

“I,” Nagito begins. Chiaki stares him down. “That would be nice,” he says instead.

“Good,” Chiaki says, and begins dragging him to the hotel lobby. It’s been a long day. At this point, all she wants to do is play video games.

* * *

 

It’s hard to find anything good to say about the Funhouse, but if Chiaki can reach 100% completion on new RPGs without a guide, she’s sure she can manage it. It’s not like she can do anything about the situation.

The good thing about the Funhouse is that in it, the petty arguments of before seem irrelevant. No one has the energy to care. She’s lost track of how long it’s been since they woke up here, and is a little scared to check and realize how close her friends are too death, but it’s been long enough that Sonia is even willing to be in the same room as Kazuichi.

She herself is on the first floor of Strawberry House. She’s got both Hajime and Nagito with her, taking advantage of their lethargy to try to get them to talk again. So far her success has been mixed. They’ve mostly just been staring into space, but at least they’re not fighting.

She imagines the next step would be to get them talking, but she’s not sure how. She doesn’t want to interfere too much. That might make them think they need her, when what they really need is each other.

She hasn’t found a solution by the time Hajime says, “You really worried me, you know.” Chiaki and Nagito give him twin looks of confusion. “With the Despair Disease, I mean. I thought you were dying.”

“I am,” Nagito says. He gives his most obnoxious laugh. “Of course, we all are, unless someone commits a murder soon.”

Chiaki puffs her cheeks out in annoyance. Hajime makes a frustrated sound. “Do you really have to do that?” he asks. “Every time it seems like we might be getting along, you start talking about hope or murder or something. And when you’re not, you’re actually funny and smart and fun to be around, and I almost forget how annoying you really are. But you always have to go and remind me.”

Nagito holds his hands up conciliatorily. “I get it,” he says. “I’m sorry.” He goes to stand, his motions unsteady from hunger. “I’ll just leave you alone.”

Hajime throws his hands up in frustration. “Come on!” he says.

Nagito stills, and Hajime takes advantage of the pause to grab his wrist. He opens his mouth like he’s going to say something else, then shakes his head.

That’s all the warning Nagito gets before Hajime is kissing him. He tenses at the sudden contact, but once he processes the situation, he relaxes into it.

Chiaki isn’t prepared for how thrilled she is at the sight. Everything else has been going wrong, but finally, this is something that feels perfectly right. They each deserve a soulmate they can count on. Knowing that they’ll have each other fills her with relief and happiness and so many other emotions she can’t name them.

None of that changes the fact that they are now making out right in front of her. She averts her eyes politely. She’s pretty sure that she’s intruding, and the sensible thing to do would be to let them have some time alone. But at this point, trying to leave will just call attention to her and make things awkward. Waiting doesn’t seem much better, since when they remember she’s there they’ll probably get embarrassed and then things will be awkward anyway.

She’s looking around for something to hide behind when the boys finally break apart. They’re both blushing, but for the first time since they woke up in the Funhouse they look happy. They stare at each other for a moment before Hajime’s head whips around to face Chiaki. “I’m so sorry about that,” he says.

Chiaki can’t think of a good way to express her delight that they’ve finally gotten over themselves without sounding creepily overinvested in their relationship, so she just shrugs.

Nagito looks equally flustered. “We didn’t mean to leave you out,” he says. “If you want, I’m sure Hajime would be happy to kiss you, too.”

Hajime rolls his eyes. “Why are you putting words in my mouth?” He turns back to Chiaki. “That’s not to say I would mind, exactly, if you wanted… Or you could kiss Nagito, that’s an option too.” Watching Nagito splutter helps him gain some composure.

Then they’re both smiling at her. They’re so earnest, for once, so convinced that she’s supposed to be here with them. It would be so easy to go along with them. What can it hurt? She’s been playing their soulmate for this long already, and they’d all be so much happier if she kept the ruse up.

She realizes that she’s including herself in that. She can’t pretend that this is part of her role as observer anymore. They both mean so much to her, it terrifies her. She can’t have priorities above her mission. She’s here to help all her classmates, them included. It’s what she was built for.

“I’m sorry,” she stutters out, and then she runs.

* * *

 

Technically speaking, Chiaki doesn’t need to sleep, but right now all she wants is to lie down and not think about anything until the morning. Today has brought too many revelations on each other’s heels, followed by the death of yet another of her friends. It’s too much. She’ll try to find a way to smooth things over tomorrow, but it’s not like anyone’s in the mood right now anyway. She can rest for a little while.

She should know that thinking something like that is the perfect way to trigger an event flag. She’s barely taken off her backpack when there’s a knock on her cottage door. She stifles a groan and goes to answer it, hoping whoever it is will be reassured by generic platitudes.

It’s Nagito. He doesn’t even give her a chance to greet him before saying, “You’re the traitor.”

“What?” Chiaki doesn’t have to fake her confusion. This isn’t a conversation she wants overheard, though, so somewhat against her will she invites him in.

“You don’t have to worry about Monokuma listening in. He’s a little distracted right now,” Nagito says ominously. He comes in anyway, but refuses to sit down. He’s been agitated since the trial, but it’s only gotten worse since she last saw him. His movements are jerkier than usual. He can’t sit still. “I should have known,” he says. “Hajime’s talentless garbage and you’re not even my real soulmate. It makes sense, though. It’s what someone like me deserves.”

“Calm down,” Chiaki says. Her first priority is making sure that Nagito is okay. They can talk about her betrayal later, when they’ll hopefully both be in a state of mind to deal with it. “And please don’t talk about Hajime like that. Or yourself, either. I think you’re both good people.”

“Yeah, right.” Nagito’s voice is increasing in urgency, though thankfully not in volume. “You know what we’ve done, right? I betrayed my talent, he stole his, and we both gave into despair! How can you possibly call us good people?”

She takes a deep breath. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but – “

“You don’t have to pretend anymore.” He laughs. There’s no humor in it, only desperation. “I mean, you’re the only person on this island who even deserves to be alive, right?” He looks her in the eye, and as broken as he sounds his expression is as lucid as ever. She can’t quite suppress a shudder. “Hajime’s file wasn’t the only one, you know. That’s how I know that the real Chiaki Nanami’s soulmarks were on her arms.”

It takes a moment for Chiaki to process the apparent non-sequitur. Then she remembers an afternoon on the beach, too warm for long sleeves, and she flinches. This is all her fault. If she’d just made something up from the beginning, kept herself from getting too attached to two of her classmates in particular, everything would be fine. But she’d had to chase that illusion of intimacy, and now everything is falling apart. She’s such an idiot.

It’s probably too late for damage control, but Chiaki has no subroutines for this, so she does what she can. “I’m sorry,” she says, “but I can’t explain myself right now.” She can’t betray the Future Foundation. She knows she’s retreating into her programming to avoid dealing with her emotions, but maybe that would have been better than trying to be something more. It would have hurt less.

“I can promise you this, though,” she continues. “I’m not going to let anyone else die. You all mean too much to me.” She’s careful to emphasize the “all.” She can’t leave it there, though, can’t quite abandon the last of her humanity. “And if you can’t believe that you’re a good person yet, I want you to know that it doesn’t matter to me. I want you to stay alive. You can figure out the rest later.”

Nagito shakes his head. “Is this what you call hope? All it is is stupidity! Despair is standing right in front of you, and you tell it that you care about it instead of doing the sensible thing and destroying it.” He’s managed to rein his emotions in. It’s even worse than when he was visibly breaking down, at least to Chiaki’s mind. She’s aware that makes her a hypocrite, but she can’t stand how resigned he looks. “It’s okay,” he says. “I know someone as talented as you can’t understand how terrible someone like me can be. You’ll figure out soon, though, I’m sure.”

He looks at her for another long moment before walking out the door.

Chiaki stays where she is, staring into space and replaying every conversation she’s had with him. There are so many things she could have done better. But she didn’t, and now he’s paying the price.

She’ll find a way to make it up to him. And to Hajime too, now that she understands exactly what she’s done to them. She should have time. As long as Monokuma sticks to the pattern, there should be a day or two of calm, and she’ll be able to spend it making things better. There has to be a way.

She doesn’t want to admit it, but her motivation isn’t entirely selfless. She hates the way Nagito looked at her before he left. She wasn’t a person to him anymore, just a symbol, something that could do no wrong. She could laugh if she weren’t so close to tears. The allure of being a person is what brought her here, and now she doesn’t even have that.

But she refuses to give in. She will show him that he’s worth something. She’ll help him realize that things aren’t as black and white as they seem, and she’ll keep everyone alive, and it will be okay.

She doesn’t realize just how not-okay things are. As it turns out, what she doesn’t know can kill them both.

* * *

 

Chiaki isn’t sure that she exists as a complete entity anymore. Her data has been scattered, and she keeps flickering into awareness for a cycle or two before shutting off again. Maybe she’s just an echo, fragments of code that can’t quite execute.

She thinks something might be calling her, or parts of her, but she’s been split into so many pieces she can’t tell. Maybe this is all a dream as she shuts down. If so, it’s a really boring dream. It isn’t advancing the plot or anything.

The call gets more insistent. She marshals what’s left of her to investigate, to see if she’s just imagining it. She still can’t be sure. But she isn’t the only one who’s come over, whether from the call or curiosity or something else entirely. What the other entities are remains unclear. She can barely keep herself together long enough to scan them.

A packet she recognizes flies by. Most of the contents are unfamiliar, but some of the statements are impossible to miss. Cases to do with hope, and despair, and Hajime. And her.

She grabs for it without thinking.

The next thing she knows, Nagito is floating in front of her. It’s strange. There wasn’t even an environment for him to float in until now. Not that this is much of one, a black void without any defining features. But to be fair, there isn’t much of her, either. She thinks a lot of her data is still being used elsewhere.

But there’s enough of her here to see Nagito’s eyes widen. He starts to smile, only for his face to suddenly twist in disgust. “What’s going on?”

Chiaki shakes her head. The fact that she has a head to shake is a good sign, and almost distracts her from his question. “I don’t know,” she says. “I think something important is happening.”

“Why?” Nagito looks up to where the sky might once have been. “It was supposed to be over. I was going to put an end to it.”

Chiaki wants to believe he’s talking about the killing game. She’s pretty sure he isn’t. “I don’t know,” she says again. She doesn’t have the answers anymore. “I don’t think this is going according to anyone’s plan.”

“Of course not. I don’t know why I even bothered.” He refuses to meet her eyes. “It’s not like anything I do matters. It’s all my luck, and I’m just along for the ride.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Chiaki says. Nagito doesn’t react. She hopes that doesn’t mean that they’re about to get disconnected. “You’ve made it this far, right? There’s no way that was all luck. I know that you’re smart, and motivated, and incredibly competent. It wasn’t luck that helped us in all those trials. That was you.”

Nagito laughs sharply. “What are you talking about? My luck is the only worthwhile thing about me. Without it, I’d be even more worthless than I already am.”

“You’re not worthless.” For once, Chiaki doesn’t feel the need to equivocate. She knows this, the way she knows that one and one is two or that Zelda is the princess and not the protagonist. “You’re important, Nagito. This isn’t the end for you. Whatever happens next, you’re going to have a part to play. You can help create the future. Even if you think you can’t, I know you will. It’s going to be great.”

He finally looks at her. For a moment, he just looks confused, like her words aren’t getting through. Then he narrows his eyes. “I know it’s not worth arguing with you,” he says. Chiaki doesn’t know whether she should take it as a victory or not. He clearly doesn’t believe her, but at least he isn’t going to fight it. She wishes yet again that she had handled things better with him. “But something’s still bothering me. You said this isn’t the end for me, but you didn’t say anything about yourself. Where are you going to be?”

Chiaki bites her lip. She’d forgotten how little he actually knew. “You know I’m the traitor,” she says slowly. “My existence is defined by the school trip. No matter what happens next, I won’t be able to come with you.” She tries to look reassuring. “It’s okay, though. As long as you don’t give up, I won’t disappear. I’ll be in whatever future you create.”

“No, that’s wrong,” Nagito says. “If you’re going to tell someone like me not to give up, why would you? You deserve a future more than any of us!”

The corners of the world begin to blur, space contracting in on itself. Chiaki struggles to find the right words in time, but the way the environment is shifting makes it hard to concentrate. “It’s okay,” she says again. “You don’t need me. You’re going to move on, and you’ll forget about how I betrayed you, and it will be okay.”

“Do you even realize how much of a hypocrite you are?” Nagito blinks out of existence. It feels like an eternity that he’s gone. Chiaki’s run through thousands of worst-case scenarios by the time he returns. “There’s no time,” he says. “We have to finish this conversation later. But we will finish it, I promise.”

“Yeah,” Chiaki says. She doesn’t believe him, but she’s willing to tell one more harmless lie. There’s a good chance they’re both being deleted as they speak. She might as well let him feel better about it.

Words form on the tip of her tongue. She’s about to say them when she’s split back into meaningless fragments of code.

* * *

 

Chiaki opens her eyes to see Nagito and Hajime standing in front of her, twin nervous expressions on their faces. These quickly turn to looks of delight. “It worked!” Hajime says.

“Of course it did,” Nagito says. “You’re the one who did it.”

They’re standing in some sort of garage, but even the fluorescent lights are so much brighter than Chiaki remembers. It’s louder, too. Having a physical body after so long as a text-based program is a little overwhelming. Were things like this in the Neo World Program?

It doesn’t matter. Her classmates are alive and hopeful again. More than that, Hajime and Nagito both look so excited. She’s missed being able to read their expressions. She rests a hand on her chest, as if that will calm the sensation of a phantom heart racing. She’s so very happy to be here.

“Welcome back,” Nagito says. “It’s been lively around here without you to help smooth things over.”

“Yeah, you’re one to talk,” Hajime says. There’s no heat in the words, only fondness. “Who nearly got himself beaten up by Akane while he was still weak from the simulation?”

Nagito shrugs. “She wanted to see if she could still fight, and I was the only one around. I’m sure she would have stopped before doing any serious damage.”

“No offense, but I really don’t trust Akane to judge what counts as serious damage.”

Chiaki realizes with a jolt how much she’s missed. She’s been speaking with everyone when they’re available, but there’s been so much going on lately.

She shakes her head. Now isn’t the time for sad thoughts. Just being alive right now is more than she could have hoped for.

She takes a step forward, ready to go greet the rest of the class, but she hadn’t accounted for the way weight is distributed in her new mechanical body. She sways dangerously. She throws her arms out instinctively to keep from hitting the floor.

Hajime and Nagito are beside her in an instant. They each take a side, supporting her. “Sorry about that,” Hajime says. “I probably should have warned you.”

Chiaki doesn’t respond. She’s frozen, staring at her outstretched arms. She’s not wearing her hoodie, since that doesn’t exist, and instead has on a nondescript white shirt that leaves her arms exposed. It means she’s able to see the words going up them. “Nagito Komaeda,” one arm reads, and the other, “Hajime Hinata.”

“You like them?” Nagito asks. “I didn’t think you would mind, but if I was being presumptuous, let me know.”

Chiaki continues to stare. “Why?” she asks, when she finally finds her voice. “You know I’m not really her.”

“Well, yes,” Hajime says. “But that’s okay. There’s enough of Izuru left in me that I’m not sure I count as Hajime anymore.”

“Unfortunately for both of you, I’m still just me.” They both look at him, and Nagito holds his hands up placatingly. “It’s a joke! I’m allowed to make jokes. The point is, we both like you, and we’re hoping you like us. And if we’re going to make our own future, we want it to be with you.”

“When you put it like that, it sounds really cheesy,” Hajime mutters. He looks away, but can’t hide the way his face has gone red. “And if you want, we do have another set of arms for you that doesn’t have any soulmarks. But if you’ll have us…”

Chiaki looks at each of them in turn. Nagito is smiling in that way that means he’s preparing for the worst, and Hajime refuses to meet her eyes. They mean it, she realizes. It’s such a them sentiment that she almost bursts out laughing. That seems mean, though, so she hums thoughtfully to give herself time to find the words. “I think I’d like that,” she says at last. “Having you as my soulmates, I mean.”

They both look so shocked that she really does laugh. Once she gets herself under control, she asks, “Was I supposed to say no? I don’t really know how these things work.”

Nagito opens his mouth, but Hajime cuts him off. “This is good,” he says. “As long as you’re happy, then I’m happy, and I’m sure Nagito is too.”

Nagito nods vigorously. He doesn’t bother trying to talk again.

“Good,” Chiaki says. “Then would you let go of me? I want to go say hello to everyone, and besides, I’m pretty sure I’ll need to learn how to walk before we can go on any dates.”

Of course, it’s not that simple. They have to tell the Future Foundation that she’s back, and everyone wants to fuss over her, and she has to sit through a lecture about taking care of her new body. It seems like a lot of work. She was bad enough at remembering to take care of her virtual body, and that was much simpler.

But once all that is done, they can sit on a real beach like they’d planned and eat ice cream together and maybe she’ll hold hands with Nagito while he kisses Hajime.

Chiaki is so proud of them both, and all her other classmates too. The future they’ve created while she was gone is even better than she could have imagined.

**Author's Note:**

> Random trivia: Chiaki's fake soulmate was originally going to be the Ultimate Hacker Junko pretends to be in IF. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a joke about one of the characters from Zero and so didn't really make sense in context, but I still like the idea.


End file.
